Jankto at Cagliari after coming out, is the first homosexual in Serie A- Corriere.it

It’s not easy to come out in a world like football, e Jankto he did it very naturally. At the beginning of February, after an interview with the coach, the Czech midfielder spoke to the team. A few simple words: “I’m gay.” And his team-mates at Sparta Prague, where he played on loan from Getafe last season, had said nothing, just as he had hoped. Then came the moment, as difficult as it was liberating, to tell everyone. His message on his social media had gone around the world, and opened the debate on homosexuality often kept hidden in the world of football. “I want to be free” She said. There was a lot of talk about him then, there is a lot of talk about him now: but this time the protagonist is the transfer market. Because it’s made for transfer of the midfielder born in ’96 says goodbye to La Liga to return to Serie A, to Cagliari. And it’s huge news, especially for what Jankto represents.

He has already played in Italy: from 2016 to 2018 with Udinesethen three years at Sampdoriawhere he worked for two seasons with Claudio Ranieri, his future coach in Sardinia. Two-year contract, one million wages including bonuses, and option to renew for another season, with medicals scheduled soon, as soon as all the final bureaucratic details have been resolved. But the scope of the news goes beyond the technical question: Jankto will be the first declared homosexual player to play in our league. A challenge, without a doubt, for those who said they wanted to «feel free, without any prejudice. I know there are others, I have received messages ».

For years, football has been committed to the fight against all forms of discrimination, but it is inevitable that everything is destined to take on very defined contours. Before him, in fact, only one player had declared being gay after playing in Italy: it is about Thomas Hitzlsperger, with a stint in Lazio in 2010. But the coming out of the current Stuttgart director came at the end of his career, four years after his brief Italian spell. A different situation compared to that of the new Cagliari signing, who will also be able to count on the support of Ranieri, always very attentive to the media dynamics that accompany football: the gesture of the coach who had asked the Sardinian fans, just a few weeks ago obtained the promotion against Bari, to applaud and not boo the opponents. Jankto boos not waiting for them. Not even applause. Not regardless. That would already be an excellent starting point.